On Taxes, Crime, Municipal Economics, the Protest Petition, Mike Winstead and Zack Matheny.

“Greensboro has the highest tax rate of any of the cities in this state"

 

"Why is this so? It’s a question of allocation of resources.”

 

“We are in what I would say is the fourth inning of a pretty ugly scene, the worst that has occurred since the Great Depression. Crime, as unemployment benefits expire, is going to spike. We are going to have to deal with it together because the government isn’t necessarily going to have enough money to fund everything. On a community basis, we’re going to have to make some changes…”

 

“I saw when the protest petition was being debated," Hartzman said. "And it came about from a county commissioner, Mike Winstead – his company is Mega Builders – wanted to build this three-story condo development out on Friendly Avenue. Mr. Winstead gave $1,000, his partner gave $1,000, and my understanding is that his attorney also contributed to [Zack's] campaign. Less than six months later, the zoning commission came before city council. It was a split vote. Mike Barber recused himself from the vote because he had a financial [stake]. A lot of people said that Mr. Matheny should have recused himself from the vote because basically he had a financial interest…. If you consider [who was] funding his campaign, it doesn’t fly. It doesn’t make sense. The system is broken here. That is a conflict of interest. It is a serious problem.

 

George Hartzman

District 3, Greensboro City Council forum

Presbyterian Church of the Covenant

Hosted by the Fisher Park and College Hill neighborhood associations

Yes Weekly, September 28, 2009